Alex Katz
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Works
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Alex KatzSpring 92023Oil on linen48 x 72 in. (121.9 x 182.9 cm)
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Alex KatzPurple Split 42022Oil on linen48 x 96 in. / 121.9 x 243.8 cm
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Alex KatzBirds 122021Oil on linen84 x 42 in. (213.4 x 106.7 cm)
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Alex KatzAda with Pink Sweater 32019Oil on linen72 x 96 in. / 182.9 x 243.8 cm
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Alex KatzFour Poplars2019Oil on linen96 x 120 in. (243.8 x 304.8 cm)
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Alex KatzCoca-Cola Girl 272018Oil on linen60 x 75 in. (152.4 x 190.5 cm)
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Alex KatzNicole2014Oil on linen48 x 108 in.
121.9 x 274.3 cm -
Alex KatzDouble White Band (Vivien)2013Oil on linen72 x 132 in
182.9 x 335.3 cm -
Alex KatzFlowers2011Oil on linen60 x 115 in. (152.4 x 292.1 cm)
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Alex KatzBlack Hat # 52010Oil on linen48 x 60 in.
122 x 152.4 cm
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Biography
I always try to paint in the present tense. If you paint stories, you're painting in the past tense.
Alex Katz (b. 1927, Brooklyn, New York) is an American painter who is celebrated for his iconic portraits of contemporary society and his crisp, confident articulation of colour. Pristine flat surfaces, dramatic cropping, and economy of line are hallmarks of the artist’s work. When Katz first began painting in the early 1950s, his now-signature minimal aesthetic was perceived as a reaction to Abstract Expressionism; it would later register as an anticipation of Pop Art, albeit one that ultimately outlasted the movement.
An iconoclastic painter, Katz has many imitators but remains the undisputed master of cool, composed 20th-century portraiture of which more than 250 feature his wife Ada. He was awarded an honourary doctorate from Colby College in 1984 and currently serves on the Colby College Museum of Art’s board of governors. In addition to his painting practice, Katz is a prolific printmaker who continues to explore three-dimensional space with sculptural cutouts, a technique first established by the artist in 1959. The subject of over 200 solo exhibitions over his career, in 2022, Katz exhibited a retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Since 2022, the artist has focused on chronicling seasons and landscapes observed from his studios Maine and New York, with four monumental works from this series occupying the atrium of the Museum of Modern Art in New York over summer 2024 in Alex Katz: Seasons.
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Exhibitions
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Alex Katz
Spring 12 September - 26 October 2024 LondonThis fall, the gallery will mount an exhibition of new paintings by Alex Katz, titled Spring. The presentation features vibrant new paintings dedicated to the landscape that belong to the same series featured in Alex Katz: Seasons which only recently closed at The Museum of Modern Art in New York.View More -
Dog Days of Summer
20 June - 23 August 2024 New YorkOur summer group show, titled Dog Days of Summer centres on man’s best friend as a timeless subject in art history. Including more than sixty works, this presentation explores the many roles a pup might play in the life of an artist: muse, metaphor, and companion.View More
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Alex Katz
Chippies 13 May - 25 June 2022 LondonSix months away from his career-sweeping retrospective at The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York opening October 2022, Alex Katz is a towering figure in contemporary art, internationally recognised for his singular ability to distill disparate elements of the culture – from the gestural power of abstract painting and Modernist poetry to the bold colours of mid-century cinema and advertising – into vibrant depictions of modern life. On display for the first time here, the Birds series (2020–present) represents a new leap into near-pure abstraction with striking avian subject matter, inspired by the chipping sparrows (‘chippies’) seen pecking in the snow outside the artist’s window. Stark and minimal, they are both meditative and disquieting, drawing on the millennium-old art of Japanese scroll painting and the Minimalist exploration of negative space as well as Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic 1962 noir, The Birds.View More -
Alex Katz
Cutouts 1 October 2021 - 1 April 2022 LondonTimothy Taylor is pleased to announce an exhibition of recent cutout sculptures by American artist Alex Katz (b. 1927, Brooklyn, NY), located at the Smithson Plaza in St. James, London, as part of the ongoing public arts program curated by Encounter.View More -
Alex Katz
15 January - 22 February 2020 LondonTimothy Taylor is pleased to present an exhibition of recent paintings by American artist Alex Katz (b. 1927). Illustrating the immense power of a craft honed for over seventy years,...View More -
Alex Katz
Coca-Cola Girls 2 November - 21 December 2018 LondonTimothy Taylor, London, is pleased to present Coca-Cola Girls, an exhibition of new large-scale paintings by Alex Katz inspired by the eponymous, and iconic, figures from advertising art history.View More -
A New Way of Walking
29 June - 27 July 2018 New YorkFor the summer season, Timothy Taylor is pleased to announce the group exhibition A New Way of Walking, which brings together an eclectic mix of artists and works all united by an interest in the impact of the surrounding environment on the individual. In the 1950’s, the theorist Guy Debord defined the term psychogeography to represent enquiries into the impact of geographical location upon the emotions and behaviour of conscious beings.View More -
Alex Katz
3 October - 18 November 2017 LondonTimothy Taylor is pleased to present an exhibition of drawings, new large-scale paintings, studies on board and sculpture by Alex Katz. This is the artist’s eighth exhibition with the gallery and the first solo presentation in London since his retrospective at the Serpentine Gallery in the summer of 2016.View More
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Alex Katz
Subway Drawings 27 April - 30 June 2017 New YorkTimothy Taylor is pleased to announce an historic solo exhibition by Alex Katz, of the artist’s notebook drawings from the 1940s, presented in collaboration with Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York/Rome. This will be the first time these drawings are brought together in an exhibition.View More -
Alex Katz
Black Paintings 28 February - 2 April 2015 LondonTimothy Taylor Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings by Alex Katz. The subject of over 200 solo exhibitions and nearly 500 group shows internationally since 1951, Katz has been honoured with numerous retrospectives including The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, USA; Tate St. Ives, UK; Turner Contemporary, Margate, UK; and The Guggenheim, Bilbao, Spain. This is the artist’s seventh exhibition with the gallery.View More -
Alex Katz
70s / 80s / 90s 19 March - 23 April 2014 LondonTimothy Taylor Gallery is pleased to announce the sixth solo show at the gallery by the renowned American artist Alex Katz. The exhibition explores the progression and distillation of Katz’s distinct style through the 70s, 80s and 90s, and focuses on the thematic significance of ‘town and country’ during this period.View More -
Alex Katz
5 September - 5 October 2012 LondonTimothy Taylor Gallery is pleased to announce the fifth solo show at the gallery by the renowned American artist Alex Katz. The exhibition will include a new series of portraits and still lifes.View More -
Outside In
18 May - 13 June 2012 LondonOutside In explores how artists reinvent traditional genres including landscape, still life and interiors, and the relationship between these in their current and recent practice – reinvesting these traditional categories with new dynamism and interpretations.View More -
Alex Katz
4 March - 9 April 2010 LondonTimothy Taylor Gallery is proud to announce an exhibition of new paintings by the renowned American artist Alex Katz.View More -
Alex Katz
One Flight Up 12 October - 10 November 2007 LondonTimothy Taylor Gallery is pleased to announce the opening on 12 October 2007 of a new 600 square metre gallery at 15 Carlos Place, W1, designed by Eric Parry architects.View More -
Alex Katz
9 June - 10 July 2004 LondonAlex Katz is one of the most important artists to emerge on the American art scene since 1950. In this exhibition of twelve new paintings Katz shows the vitality that has made him a pivotal figure for so many younger artists.View More -
Alex Katz
Small Paintings 1951–2002 14 June - 20 July 2002 LondonTimothy Taylor Gallery is pleased to present a solo show of small paintings by American artist Alex Katz. For his first exhibition with the gallery, Katz has brought together a selection of forty small paintings that span his career from the 1950s through to recently completed works.View More
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Institutional
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Alex Katz: Theater and Dance
The Baker Museum, FL 12 October 2024 – 2 February 2025Alex Katz: Theater and Dance is the first comprehensive exhibition to explore the inventive collaborations of Alex Katz with choreographers, dancers and avant-garde theater ensembles over six decades. It showcases... -
Alex Katz: Collaborations with Poets
The Butler Institute of American Art, OH 15 September – 17 November 2024The Butler Institute of American Art is pleased to present Alex Katz: Collaborations with Poets, the first exhibition to bring together the full range of materials that display Katz’s extensive... -
Alex Katz in Surface Tension: Etchings from the Collection
Colby Museum of Art, Maine 13 July 2024 – 12 January 2025Drawn entirely from the Colby College Museum of Art’s collection, including several recent acquisitions, the show features leaders of the nineteenth-century Etching Revival, like Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas, twentieth-century... -
Alex Katz: Seasons
The Museum of Modern Art, New York 4 July – 8 SeptemberAlex Katz will present four monumental paintings at the Museum of Modern Art’s Atrium this July. The artist’s Seasons series chronicles the changing of seasons, depicting the vibrant colours of... -
Alex Katz: Claire, Grass and Water
Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice, Italy 17 April – 29 September 2024The Fondazione Giorgio Cini presents an exhibition of new works by American artist Alex Katz , curated by Luca Massimo Barbero and supported by Thaddaeus Ropac gallery on the occasion... -
Alex Katz: Portraits and Landscapes
Museum Brandhorst, Munich 22 March 2024 – 16 February 2025Alex Katz has donated two paintings to Museum Brandhorst. An early work from 1958, showing the painter and sculptor George Ortman, and a recent, very personal double portrait of his... -
Alex Katz: Wedding Dress
Portland Museum of Art, Maine 30 June 2023 – 2 June 2024Alex Katz : Wedding Dress will display a series of large-scale paintings that highlight the artist’s interest in the intersection of art and fashion, the texture of the painted surface,... -
Alex Katz: Repetitions
Colby College Museum of Art, Maine 31 March 2023 – 29 March 2026Alex Katz transforms the people and places that comprise his two homes—New York City and Lincolnville, Maine—into powerful images that reflect his enchantment with modern life and his dedication to... -
Alex Katz: Cool Painting
The ALBERTINA Museum 4 February – 29 May 2023For the 95th birthday of Alex Katz, the ALBERTINA Museum presents a comprehensive tribute to this artist from the rich holdings of its collection: in 2022, the ALBERTINA Museum’s principal... -
Alex Katz: Gathering
Guggenheim Museum, New York 21 October 2022 – 20 February 2023Across eight decades of intense creative production, Alex Katz (b. 1927, Brooklyn, New York) has sought to capture visual experience in the present tense. “Eternity exists in minutes of absolute... -
Contemporary Counterpoint: Alex Katz. Water Lilies - Homage to Monet series, 2009-2010
Paris, France 14 May – 2 September 2019Alex Katz, the American figurative painter born in 1927, whose large-scale paintings are associated with Pop Art, has been producing landscapes since the 1950s. Based in New York, he works... -
Artist Rooms: Alex Katz
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle 30 March – 16 June 2019Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery are presenting, for the first time in Carlisle, an important body of work by influential American artist Alex Katz. The works in the exhibition... -
Alex Katz: Prints
Museum Ludwig, Koblenz, Germany 10 March – 30 April 2019Alex Katz is one of the forefathers of pop art in America and still very active at the age of 92. It is valued worldwide for its mostly large format... -
Alex Katz
Daegu Art Museum, Daegu, South Korea 19 February – 29 May 2019Daegu Art Museum presents the first retrospective exhibition of Alex Katz in Asia; with works from the 1950s to the present. This exhibition presents a diverse range of works –... -
Alex Katz
Museum Brandhorst, Munich, Germany 6 December 2018 – 22 April 2019The Museum Brandhorst is delighted to present a major exhibition of works by celebrated American painter Alex Katz. A towering figure in contemporary painting best known for his iconic portraits... -
Artist Rooms, Alex Katz
Tate Liverpool, UK 23 November 2018 – 17 March 2019Alex Katz (born 1927) is highly recognisable and admired by a younger generation of artists and the public. His elegant paintings present a modern, quintessentially American take on the classical... -
Alex Katz: Small Paintings
Boca Raton Museum of Art, Florida 7 November – 8 April 2018Alex Katz: Small Paintings presents a fascinating though less explored side of the artist’s practice by exhibiting Katz’s small paintings alongside his iconic large and distinct canvases. The small works... -
Brand-New & Terrific: Alex Katz in the 1950s
Neuberger Museum of Art, New York, USA 1 July – 14 October 2018Brand-New & Terrific: Alex Katz in the 1950s is the largest museum exhibition to showcase Alex Katz’s (b. 1927) innovative portraits, landscapes and still lifes from this pioneering period. Organized... -
Alex Katz: Dancers and Models
Lotte Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea 26 April – 23 July 2018 -
Alex Katz: Small Paintings
Boca Raton Museum of Art, Florida 8 November 2017 – 8 April 2018Alex Katz: Small Paintings presents a fascinating though less explored side of the artist’s practice by exhibiting Katz’s small paintings alongside his iconic large and distinct canvases. The small works... -
Alex Katz: Black and White
Tampa Museum of Art, Florida 23 February – 29 May 2017The Tampa Museum of Art will present a survey of black and white works by the legendary artist Alex Katz (American, b. 1927). An artist of international renown, this exhibition... -
Alex Katz at The Met
The Met Fifth Avenue, New York 8 October – 26 November 2016This exhibition, mounted in celebration of gifts both donated and promised to the Met, gathers works by Alex Katz (American, born 1927), one of our era's most acclaimed artists. Acquired... -
Alex Katz’s sculpture bathes in the water feature at The Connaught, 21 June 2016, The Connaught, Carlos Place, London, UK
21 June 2016Chance will remain in the fountain, designed by renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando, for the day. Following which, the work will be available to view at the gallery until 3... -
Alex Katz: Quick Light
Serpentine Gallery, London 2 June – 11 September 2016The Serpentine presents the work of renowned American painter Alex Katz (b. 1927, Brooklyn, New York). This exhibition will bring together Katz’s extraordinarily productive output of recent years alongside works... -
Alex Katz: You’ve Got to Know the Rules to Break Them
De la Cruz Collection, Miami 1 December 2015 – 12 November 2016The de la Cruz Collection presents their 2016 exhibition “You’ve Got to Know the Rules…to Break Them.” Rosa and Carlos de la Cruz have selected a group of artists from... -
Crosscurrents – Modern Art from the Sam Rose and Julie Walters Collection, Alex Katz, 30 October 2015 – 10 April 2016, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC, USA
30 October 2015
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Press
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Carrie Mae Weems, Alex Katz, and Mark Bradford Among Recipients of National Medals of Arts
Maya Pontone, Hyperallergic, 22 October 2024 -
Alex Katz, Carrie Mae Weems, and Mark Bradford Receive National Medal of the Arts
Angelica Villa, ARTnews, 21 October 2024 -
President Biden awards National Medal of Arts to artists including Mark Bradford, Carrie Mae Weems and Alex Katz
Carlie Porterfield, The Art Newspaper, 21 October 2024 -
Alex Katz: From One Nonagenarian Artist to Another, a Tip of the Hat
Ted Loos, New York Times, 3 October 2024 -
Alex Katz Chronicles the Changing of the ‘Seasons’ at MoMA
Shawn Ghassemitari, Hypebeast, 22 August 2024 -
8 New York and Online Shows to See in August
Rhea Nayyar, Hyperallergic, 2 August 2024 -
Alert the Pupperazzi — These Dogs Have Bow Wow Wow Power
Brian T. Allen, National Review, 1 August 2024 -
Your Dog Wants You to Visit This New York Art Exhibit
Kerensa Cadenas, The Wildest, 29 July 2024 -
Alex Katz at MoMA: A Painter for all Seasons
Brian P. Kelly, The Wall Street Journal, 26 July 2024 -
‘Dog Days of Summer’ Celebrates Humanity’s Favorite Companions in Art and Life
Grace Ebert, Colossal, 24 July 2024 -
See Fetching Portraits of Man’s Best Friend in a New Exhibition All About Dogs
Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 July 2024 -
Here Are 3 Buzzy Shows to See in New York This Summer
Richard Whiddington, Artnet, 15 July 2024 -
Dog Lovers Rejoice! NYC Art Gallery Shows 60+ Pup Portraits
Rhea Nayyar, Hyperallergic, 14 July 2024 -
A Seasoned Eye: Alex Katz Explains His Idea of Painting Eternity
Prudence Peiffer, The Museum of Modern Art, 2 July 2024 -
Dog Days of Summer
Paulina Prosnitz, Airmail, 27 June 2024 -
The Most Anticipated Art Shows and Exhibitions of 2024: Dog Days of Summer
Maxine Wally, Andrea Whittle, and Claire Valentine, W Magazine, 21 June 2024 -
Alex Katz’s Love Affair With Maine
Maya Pontone, Hyperallergic, 21 June 2024 -
A New Gallery Show Pays Tribute to Man’s Best Friend. See 8 Featured Artists Posing With Their Dogs
Julia Halperin, CULTURED, 21 June 2024 -
From Titian to Alex Katz, artists and poets have long enjoyed a symbiosis
Ben Luke, The Art Newspaper, 13 May 2024 -
Alex Katz’s New Paintings in Venice Celebrate Grass, Water, and Clothes
Andy Battaglia, ARTnews, 18 April 2024 -
Alex Katz Would Rather Own a 1930s Balenciaga Coat Than a Richard Serra
Stephanie Sporn, Vogue, 17 April 2024 -
Artist Alex Katz: ‘This is the end game. It’s just sleep and paint’
The 96-year-old is opening an ambitious show in Venice with some of his largest paintings to dateJulia Halperin, Financial Times, 13 April 2024 -
Alex Katz: Six Ramps of a Painter’s Progress at The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY
Roberta Smith, The New York Times, 20 October 2022 -
Guggenheim Museum to Mount Retrospective for Alex Katz, New York Painter Extraordinaire, in 2022
Andy Battaglia, ARTnews, 17 January 2020
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News
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Our Artists at La Biennale di Venezia 2024
Venice, Italy 20 April – 24 November 2024We congratulate our three artists that will be participating in the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, curated by Adriano Pedrosa. Eduardo Terrazas will present a work... -
Podcast | A brush with... Alex Katz
The Art Newspaper 3 April 2024Alex Katz talks to Ben Luke about his influences-from writers to musicians, film-makers and, of course, other artists-and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work. Katz, born... -
Alex Katz: London Gallery Weekend
13 – 15 May 2022Join us this Friday through Sunday for London Gallery Weekend, the inaugural edition of a grassroots three-day event that celebrates the richness and diversity of the city's cultural landscape. Our... -
In Conversation | Alex Katz and David Salle
Rockland Strand Theatre, 345 Main St, Rockland 23 July 2019, 5:30 — 7pmAlex Katz + David Salle | Looking + Seeing Two of the most esteemed contemporary artists of our time, Alex Katz and David Salle have been friends for more than... -
New Publication : Looking at Art with Alex Katz
London, UK 29 October 2018 -
In Conversation | Alex Katz and Ann Goldstein
Art Institute of Chicago, IL 11 April 2018, 12 — 1pmGallery 295 Free with museum admission Alex Katz (American, b.1927) is one of the most recognized and widely-exhibited artists of his generation. Since the 1950s, his distinctive portraits and lyrical... -
Blank Canvas at Timothy Taylor | Alex Katz
Timothy Taylor, 15 Carlos Place, London 21 October 2017, 11am—1pmUsing Alex Katz’s exhibition as a springboard for ideas, artist-educators Blank Canvas will devise a thematic workshop for children. -
On the Cover: New York Magazine’s 50th Anniversary Issue, Alex Katz, 15 October 2017
15 October 2017Everyone builds their own New York, and New York Magazine’s 50th anniversary issue, “My New York,” explores the many cities contained within the one shared by all, including a 50-person... -
In Conversation | Alex Katz and Julia Felsenthal
Timothy Taylor 16×34, 515 West 19th Street, New York 10011 20 June 2017, 7 – 8pmOn the occasion of the exhibition Alex Katz: Subway Drawings , Alex Katz will join in conversation with Julia Felsenthal, Senior Culture Writer, Vogue.com at Timothy Taylor 16×34. Tickets are...
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Publications
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Alex Katz
Coca-Cola Girls 2021Hardcover , 58 pagesBuy Now
Publisher: Timothy Taylor -
Alex Katz
Subway Drawings 2017Paperback, 108 pagesBuy Now
Publisher: Timothy Taylor
Dimensions: 200 × 128 mm -
Alex Katz
Black Paintings 2015Hardcover, 36 pagesBuy Now
Publisher: Timothy Taylor
Dimensions: -
Alex Katz
2012Hardcover, 43 pagesBuy Now
Publisher: Timothy Taylor
ISBN:
Dimensions: -
Alex Katz
Portraits 2010Hardcover, 41 pagesBuy Now
Publisher: National Portrait Gallery
ISBN: 978-185514-426-2
Dimensions: -
Alex Katz
Small Paintings 1951–2002 2002Paperback, 58 pagesBuy Now
Publisher: Timothy Taylor
ISBN: 0-9542892-0-x
Dimensions: 23 x 23 cm
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